Yes my lovely friends. This is less of a blog and more of a mini-newsletter. The temperature is starting to drop faster than Donald Trump’s credibility and I would rather be curled up with a hot chocolate, a packet of maltesers and the boxed set of The Walking Dead, ( I know, I’m not the kind of girl you would expect to enjoy zombies but they bear many similarities to several of my ex boyfriends so it is fun to watch) but I have a job to do and I do have a number of things to impart.
Firstly, as suggested by my fairly unambiguous and not remotely clever title, our Autumn Photograph Competition is now over.
The entries are all in (Suffering Snapshots Batman but they are ever so good) and very soon our special judges will be let out of their busy studios and offices, and will be gathered round, sipping mugs of steaming hot tea, nibbling the odd hob-nob and arguing over whose focus, exposure and artistic vision is the bestest.
Watch this space and our Facebook page to see who wins the fabulous Redback Cordless Blower (pictured) complete with battery and charger (not pictured).
The next bit of news isn’t really news at all. Just to say that Dick Roberts’ blog yesterday highlighted a couple of important things.
First, he pointed out that we have some very good blowers indeed on offer at the moment for the latest gale force wind induced tumble of leaves, that also should be powerful enough to cope with the wet (not counting our Redback Cordless of course, as even if you don’t win and have to buy it it’s still great value) but he also pointed out how hazardous leaves can be if left on your path, pavement, driveway or even lawn. Lawns can be very treacherous when leaf covered, but it’s worse on a hard surface, of course, in that you are more likely to injure yourself badly.
They might look OK and relatively dry, but wet leaves can be lurking under the surfacet, a soggier layer sitting underneath the drier, upper layer, silent deadly and dangerous… like a shark…
…OK. Point taken. Not quite like a shark but they can be a real hazard.
In fact I watched some only yesterday come very close to a cropper on the road outside the library and it could have been very nasty indeed. I know it’s not like me to be so serious but, unless your town or borough council is really on it, a slip on the leaves can be a real game changer.
Obviously, walk carefully, don’t run, wear sensible shoes and all that, but it’s easy to forget yourself and get carried away sometimes.
Do be aware that if you own business premises, you might even be sued by people who slip or fall due to your negligence so it’s worth thinking about good quality pro blower like the Tanaka THB-260PF Commercial-Grade Handheld Petrol Blower-Vac. According to Dick, it which costs £268 and comes with a two year commercial warranty. He tells me the Tanaka blowers are all very good.
I think that’s jolly reasonable for a machine that might help avoid breaking an ankle and Dick tells me it will even shift wet and matted leaves. So that’s good.
the final thing I have to do is say a very big YaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaY! to Mr Andrew Murray and his lickle brother James. What an amazing achievement. World number 1 singles and doubles at the same time and brothers to boot. Another record and jolly well done both.
Anyhoo. That’s it from me this week. Short and sweet but everyone is talking about these competition photos and I have been asked to take a look so. See ya. Holly.